Arne

You're right, Will. I tested them both with a magnet, and both new and old bases must be plastic.

Now that the site is back (), I can post the pictures. In all cases, the original is on the left, the replacement on the right. You can see the increased size, the type-face/font difference, and even the different angles on the chrome base. Both bases appear to be metal, not plastic as suggested in an earlier post to this thread.

Christian, I sent you an e-mail this afternoon.

Gary, how did you remove the disk without damaging it?

As add-on steering wheel covers go, Wheelskins are the best. I had one on my old MGB's stock plastic wheel, it fit very nicely, and on that wheel looked almost the same as the factory leather covered wheel from an MGC. Very nice. I don't know if I'd like one as well on a 240Z, because there would still be bits of faux-wood showing. But on a 280Z it'd probably be a good low cost improvement.

Typically at auto body supply shops, or sometimes at better upholstery shops.

All this is darn good info, but the way I interpret would rule out things like Rebello heads, balanced internals and the like. I still think that 200 HP out of an L24 on a budget is not realistic. I failed to mention the budget part in my first reply, my bad.

You know, that SEM texture finish looks like it would be great for repaired 240Z consoles, too. Like Gary, I've used SEM in the past with excellent results, but not these particular products.

Very impressive, Bruce. Maybe you should moonlight and do a few dashes in your spare time? I bet you could sell that one for good money on eBay!!

Not if you still have the stock air box for the tube to connect to. In fact I've heard of several drawbacks to those little filters, including oily mist in the engine compartment, oil fumes in the cockpit, etc.

Frankly, red_dog, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. Getting a true 200 HP from a streetable naturally aspirated L24 will be very hard, and 250 close to impossible. If you do get it to 200, you'll have an engine with little torque or power at low RPM, a radical cam, etc. My personal opinion is that if you really want more than say 175 HP, I'd pull the stock motor out and put it in storage somewhere, then start with an L28 and do it right. Say, an F54 block with flat-top pistons, N42 or shaved P90 head, medium-hot cam, good exhaust and fresh round-top SUs. That should get you in the 200+ area.

Derek, the difference is mainly in how far back towards the firewall the rail extends. Yours only goes as far as the extra threaded boss in the valve cover, the early ones (as shown in the pictures of Kat's and mine) extends past the rear carb.

Yes, the replacement knobs are just a bit chunkier, both in the wood and even the chrome base is slightly different. The pattern disk is very close, there seems to be a very slight difference to the type-face or font used, but it is very close.My guess is that the original manufacturer of these knobs is out of business, and that Nissan found a new supplier, but they tooled up from scratch. Hence the slight differences. Later this week - perhaps this evening - I'll go remove the knobs from the cars and take some good comparison pictures of the original and replacement.

Oops! Duplicate post! See the pictures above.

The wood one on the left is the stock one, Will. It's hard to see the difference here, but the one that is almost hidden by the steering wheel is the original, and the other is the new replacement from Nissan. The replacement is noticeably fatter and less graceful shaped. I'll take better comparison pictures of he two knobs later.

Hey Derek, your fuel rail doesn't look right compared to Kat's or mine. It appears to me to be from a '73? The attached picture is mine, it shows he earlier fuel rail (barely), as well as the sticker locations for the later '71s. (Got to get those two replaced soon.)

I'll look into clear-coating the emblem, that may be all I need there. Will, the plastic emblems (lens) on the factory knobs have 3-D relief to the numbers and pattern. They are molded into the under-side of the lens, the reliefs are painted pale gray, and then the back of the lens was painted black. Done that way, the numbers and pattern stand out in the clear lens. Would be hard to duplicate without molding a completely new lens with the reliefs cast in.

I'm not at home today, I'll post pics of both original and replacement later. It looks like the plastic emblems are the same, but it seems a shame to sacrifice a $60 knob just for the emblem, even if I could get it off without damaging it.

I'd like to tack on to this thread. I've got the original wood shift knob for my 240Z, and I'd like to restore it rather than replace it as the replacements (even from Nissan) aren't the same - the are fatter. I need to refinish it, which is not the problem. But the plastic emblem with the shift pattern is cracked. Can that plastic emblem be replaced or repaired?

Carl, PM a7dz. I think Jim still has a set of KYBs on his bench.

After having heard of this issue several times lately, I'm going to have to assume that the third-party service manuals (Haynes, Clymer, and the like) must all have very poor descriptions about adjusting the booster pushrod. The FSM has better instructions, as well as a decent cut-away diagram, IIRC. (Out of town today in a motel room. Can't look at my FSM to be sure.)

Check prices for exchange calipers that are already rebuilt. I bought a pair for my '71 from Schucks (Kragen) for all of $29 per side. No pads, but all rebuilt with new pad hardware and a lifetime warranty. Not worth getting all messy inside the caliper for that price.

If the engine is running so lean that it needs the choke to make it run right, there is no harm in running it that way, other than it is darned difficult to get the mixture 100% correct by using the choke lever. You are only going to get close, at best.

Sounds like your carbs are set too lean. Probably time to start from scratch. You are going to want to search the site for posts on carb adjustment, go to www.ztherapy.com and read their stuff, and probably buy their video as well. Be warned that if your old carbs are in typical condition for their age, you may not be able to get them really right as the throttle shafts will be leaking air into the system. You'll want to plan for ZTherapy or Zedd Findings remanufactured carbs if that is the case.

Jim, disregard what you and I were talking about on the phone this afternoon. I went out into the garage just now and tested the red car. Blower does NOT work when the relay is unplugged. Build date 7/71. I can't test the yellow car right now, the heater panel and switch are not installed.